Tokyo, Japan...
We arrived on our third visit to Tokyo on Thursday, April 3 and had quite possibly the best time one could ask for in this amazing city. We won’t be doing a blow by blow account of the whole tour but we figured Tokyo was too good not to blog! After a delayed plane that arrived nearly two hours late we headed off around Shinjuku to find our favourite cheapo cafe for some curry and Asahi. We were introduced to the hilarity of late night Japanese drunkenness as we watched the guy opposite us passing out in his miso soup, splashing it every where in the process.
Friday night : fun in Tokyo designer land...
Feeling pretty tired after a massive lack of sleep in the period leading up to the tour and walking around Harajuku and Shinjuku all day we decide to head back to the hotel but stumbled across a bunch of people in Harajuku Street all drinking beer on the street. Turned out it was the opening of a cool new clothes store called Factory (that sold shirts and t-shirts designed by Factory records artist Peter Saville no less!). We were warmly welcomed by the store owners and friends and beer was quickly thrust into our hands. Several beers and much laughter later we head off, glad we took the impromptu detour down Harajuku Street.
Saturday night : Tokyo Dark Castle and Hanami with the Tokyo goths...
Tokyo Dark Castle. Wow. We first played this amazing club at the end of our ~An Inexact Science~ tour last year and it’s possible tonight surpassed even that first night. It’s hard to think of another club that comes close to knocking this one off the top position in our favourite clubs around the world. Some of the most enthusiastic audience anywhere in the world (not just Japanese people either - this club is a magnet for people from all around the globe : Sweden, Russia, Germany, UK, US etc). It also has a fantastic DJ team, great staff, brilliant bands and the amazing Genet running the show : we can’t thank Genet enough for all his work and for being such a great person as well!
Opening the night were Thirteenth Moon, a relatively new Tokyo deathrock band that quite simply rocked! Great music and a stage presence had the whole audience right with them. Next up were Auto-Mod whose unique music and stage show blew us away last time and I think they may have been even better this time - someone has to get these guys to Europe soon!
We played next and we couldn’t have asked for a better start to the tour - we did a few songs from the new album and a couple of old favs and we had a ball. It’s such a pleasure to play and such an awesome stage with a such a great responsive crowd - can’t wait to come back!!! We should also mention the strange energy drinks that come in those funny little medicine bottles that we downed before going on stage - no idea what is in them but man they’re great!!!
Gothika followed us with their rocking electro that manages to combine European style electronica with a unique Tokyo angle that really sets them apart. (We’re looking forward to meeting up with Gothika at Kunigunda Lunaria in Lithuania and WGT in Leipzig too - see you then!) Last up was Twisted Clock who put in a truly arse kicking set of dark rock/metal - yeah!
After the club finished at 7am we went with the bands, DJs and guests with staying power on a long trip through Shinjuku to Yoyogi park for Hanami : the traditional Japanese celebration of the sakara (cherry blossom) flowering... a tradition that involves sitting under the blossom trees drinking beer, eating and having fun... a tradition we can certainly get into! The sight of about 30-40 Japanese, Russian, German, Swedish and English goths moving through Tokyo in the early morning light was a spectacle to behold and not something we will forget easily - hilarious! Eventually at about 10am or so we headed back to the hotel for some sleep...
There’s some great photos on Genet’s blog too, play "Where’s Wally" with Naomi :
http://genet.jugem.jp/?cid=28
http://genet.jugem.jp/?cid=28Sunday night : Hanami with the Tokyo cyber crew and other shenanigans...
After some brief sleep we headed off to Shibuya to meet Kelly and Megumi from Rain In Eden, who we had previously only spoken with over email. Both were utterly lovely people and Megumi’s a chocolate lover... there’s no chance of us not getting along ;-) Then it was off to meet our friend and number one Japanese fan Aki and then back to Yoyogi park for some more Hanami action, this time with DJ Sisen and all of the Tokyo Decadance cyber crew.
Monday : impromptu rocking in the Tokyo indie/electronica world...
We decide to have a quiet night and head down to Super Deluxe (where we played on the 2007 tour) for a beer and were greeted with a big welcoming cheer from the bar... it’s nice to feel at home in a foreign country :-) Next we hear "Naomi san" from behind us and standing behind us is a dazed and confused looking Ao (from You Do Simon) who was there for a meeting with a video director and couldn’t believe we were in Tokyo and ran into him by accident... more eating and drinking ensues... Things got strange when the staff set up a Fender Hotrod Deville and a Tokai Strat and a mic... next thing I’m playing guitar over the DJ’s beats and then Naomi and Ao are singing a birthday greeting for one of the Super Deluxe staff who then proceeds to launch into a fantastic dance routine for everyone! Unfortunately we had to leave before the Metro finished for the night... ’twould have been great to spend the rest of the night there...
Tuesday night : Rain In Eden and Gamuso Gallery
After another day spent in Harajuku... much of it spent in Takuya Angel trying on amazing clothes :-) Just about to head back when we ran into DJ Wakana who invited us in to have a look at her goth/punk shop Sex Pot Revenge.
The gig at Gamuso Gallery was great and a stark contrast to the rock extravaganza that was Tokyo Dark Castle. Gamuso is an intimate upstairs bar/gallery - a sit down and play mellow stuff kind of affair. Before us were Rain In Eden who were beautiful - an amazing mix of Japanese, central Asian and electronics using instruments like shamisen, setar, frame drums etc... Herman from Rain In Eden joined us on frame drums in Starry Messenger and To Drown Is To Follow and the whole show finished with an all in jam with us, Rain In Eden and the audience all playing together - we think this got recorded - we hope so! There were some amazing moments in the jam with dulcimer, frame drums, darabuka, flute, harmonic throat singing, guitar, jaw harp and singing - wow!
Eventually back to the hotel and then in search of late night food (bless Tokyo’s 24 hour eateries!)... then time for repack and then off to the airport... a few minutes sleep would have been nice, but beggars/choosers and all that... off to Paris now!!!
So, in short : WE LOVE TOKYO!
See you again in July :-)